


Reunited

by ohgoditsneph



Series: Fractured Memories [4]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types
Genre: Calm Before The Storm, Changelings, Dungeons and Dragons, Eberron (Setting), F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Marriage Proposal, Romance, deck of many things shenanigans, dnd, sfw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-21
Updated: 2019-05-21
Packaged: 2020-03-08 22:47:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18904222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohgoditsneph/pseuds/ohgoditsneph
Summary: Through the Deck of Many Things, Ash achieved her goal-- to get her lover back from the dead. Now taking a rest, and realizing the consequences of her actions, Ash is faced with her newfound reality. Does she tell her lover, Nox, the truth of what she had done, or should she hide the truth for as long as she can?





	Reunited

                Ash and Nox made their way out of the tower of Ralanxor. Having defeated the three twisted and mutated forms of the party’s loved ones, everyone opted to take a short rest before proceeding onward to defeat the vile necromancer.

                It was awful, what Ralanxor had done—at the behest of the Silver Dragon Evelyn, he had gathered the bodies of Jerra, Bramble’s Wife, Mattias, Capius’ mentor, and Wren, Ash’s older brother, and informed the party that Evelyn was offering them a deal—Leave her alone, and they would all be resurrected and everyone would be protected from what would eventually become a second Daelkyr invasion. Refuse, and she would not only personally ensure their slow and painful deaths but instructed the necromancer to turn the bodies he gathered into mutated monstrosities, never able to be resurrected again.

                For Bramble the druid and Capius the paladin, the choice was obvious—they could never accept such a deal. Jerra would beat Bramble, and the Church of the Silver Flame heavily looked down upon resurrecting their own, for doing so would weaken the flame.

                For Ash, however... things were more... complicated, for her perspective was vastly different. Before the battle, and before their ultimate decision to refuse the deal, Wren’s body was not in the glass sarcophagus. In fact, he had been very much alive and well—whereabouts Ash had no way of knowing; he was a traveling bard, after all.

                The fact of the matter was that it was Nox’s pristine corpse in that coffin instead. He had been dead for over ten months—and yet, the only thing that tainted his otherwise perfect body were multiple puncture wounds, mystifying Ash. She was convinced that he had been buried in the Thornwood—the very forest that Ralanxor’s tower had been in—as a matter of fact, Nox’s grave lied in a clearing just 20 feet below the cliff where the structure resided, and it had been completely untouched. By this point, Nox’s body should have been almost entirely decomposed.

                It wasn’t until the necromancer informed her that he had discovered the body in the Mournland that something clicked within Ash. She never recalled just _abandoning_ Nox’s body in that vile hellscape—she remembered his death, clear as day—He bled out before she could get him proper help, and she had him buried in the Thornwood, just like he wanted. Sure, there were a few weeks where she couldn’t remember much, mostly due to binge drinking—and at some point, she stumbled into Jeremy’s shop, much to the old fox’s frustration. That was the last thing she remembered upon sobering up.

                It was at that point that Ash asked Bramble to give her the memory vial that Jeremy passed onto him. Thinking it important, Ash downed the strange concoction, hoping to connect the dots.

                And connect the dots it did, for everything that Ralanxor told her was the truth. That truth being that Nox had never been buried in the Thornwood to start with—that Nox was killed in the Mournland, after taking a fatal blow from the carcass crab’s barbs to protect her. He had died in her arms, and was carried out by force, refusing to leave him behind out of despair and agony. After drinking her life away for a fortnight, she turned to Jeremy in desperation—to have that awful memory replaced with something less traumatic. She wanted to be rid of the guilt once and for all.

 

 

                 Out of desperation and despair, and riddled with the guilt of what had transpired in the Mournland, Ash pulled cards from the Deck of Many Things, figuring that it had some solution, _any_ solution, to get her lover back, to prevent him from being turned into a vile aberration, never able to return to the living again.

                And she found it. Ash remembered the card—“Fate,” stop an immediate occurrence, or prevent a past occurrence. It was perfect, she thought—Ash could do more than just bring Nox back from the dead; she could make it so that he never died in The Mournlands to begin with.

                And it was so—Despite speaking with everyone else, her ideas still got shot down. Perhaps there was a way that they could all win. They could always stop the runes from mutating the bodies, or even go as far as to accepting Evelyn’s deal on the surface, and backstabbing her when she least expected it—but those options all fell on deaf ears.

                This only served to upset Ash further. Refusing to give up on her ultimate goal, Ash used the card to obtain it. The world blurred around her, and soon enough, she found Nox at her side, perfectly healthy. She had finally got what she wanted.

                It wasn’t until she saw Wren in that coffin instead that she realized that using the card had some unintended side effects—namely, that she couldn’t remember the smaller events beyond the incident in the Mournlands. The party remained, but as far as they knew now, Nox had always been with them. The overarching events had still happened, but the little details were far murkier now that the changeling alchemist was added to the equation. Ash came to realize the gravity of her actions. She had to say something, and soon-- but what?

                Nox and Ash sat around the campfire where one of the lesser necromancers had created before their assault. Ash couldn’t help but to stare at the changeling alchemist in awe, observing his every movement, memorizing every word he spoke and every move he made in spite of his humanoid mask. Short, spiky black hair with a dark blue highlight. Tanned skin. Luminous yellow eyes. Tall and sleek, with his emerald green scarf wrapped around his neck, as opposed to hers.

                _As it should be_ , she thought. She had worn his scarf ever since his death, but since she reversed it, it was now Nox’s once again.

                Nox looked at Ash and her numerous injuries from the recent battle. She looked worse for wear-- bruises covered her arms and abdomen alongside some puncture wounds from the massive carcass crab they had fought earlier, which was lifeless at the far end of the tower, its body sunk against the ground, looking like a massive pile of bodies once more..

                “Are you okay, Ash?” He said.

                Ash was far too distracted by what had just transpired to even notice her injuries, much less be in pain.

                “Yeah… I’m okay… mostly...”

                Without a word, Nox leaned forward, digging into his large bag and pulling out a sizeable rectangular box. Upon opening it, he pulled out a roll of cloth and began tending to her various woundsites, applying some salve on it before wrapping them up.

                Ash flinched a bit, finally feeling the brunt of her wounds, particularly around her stomach as Nox took care of her. The pain was nothing compared to his warm touch, however; it had been so long since she had felt his skin against hers that it seemed that she had completely forgotten how it felt in spite of making it a point to keep him alive in her memory. The feeling became so overwhelming that tears began to well up in her eyes. It took everything she had to not simply break down in tears right then and there and give him a tight hug.

                “You got pretty badly hurt from that crab and those monsters earlier… you acted too brash. I know you wanted to protect Bramble, but don’t forget to look out for yourself, okay? I got really worried.”

                Nox looked up to see Ash’s face in anguish, and his face sunk.

                “What’s wrong?”

                It was then Ash knew; She couldn’t hide the truth from Nox for long. And yet, she feared his reaction. She knew deep inside that this wasn’t the outcome that Nox would have wanted; he never would have wanted to be brought back at the behest of a necromancer working for a silver dragon that ultimately wants everyone in Khorvaire dead, nor would he want Ash to give up fighting the good fight just to see him again.

                But how would one break it to him?

                “I… Last night… I had a really bad dream.” Maybe framing it in this way would help gauge his reaction. After all, telling him the truth now, when they still had a necromancer to deal with, wasn’t the best idea.

                “I had a dream that when we were in the Mournlands, you died by that carcass crab… and I spent so long trying to find a way to bring you back, and when we eventually reached the tower… it was your body in that coffin, instead of Wren’s…”

                Nox set aside his healing kit and leaned onto Ash, giving her a comforting hug. She returned his embrace, somehow not managing to lose it entirely.

                “It’s okay, Ash… I’m right here. You don’t have to worry. That crab is dead.” Nox stroked the long black hair of her persona as he embraced her.

                “Besides… Wren might be naiive, but he was still a good person. He wouldn’t have wanted you to bring him back under those circumstances, and I wouldn’t have wanted you to bring me back like that either. You did the right thing rejecting that necromancer’s offer.”

                Ash’s heart sunk. She knew it. Now what would she do? She had to admit the truth one way or the other… but hearing those words made her all the more afraid, and uncertain. Would Nox hate her forever? More to the point, would he even believe her?

                She paused for a moment, sighing deeply. “Yeah… I guess we did...”

                Ash had something in mind. Maybe it would work, maybe not, but nonetheless, she wanted to make sure she could keep Nox once and for all. After all, he wasn’t much of a fighter-- he’s always been the one to support others, being a product of his upbringing by his alchemist father, creating potions and oils that helped others instead of diving in head first into combat.

                “Hey… I’ve been thinking, and… well… this, on top of the dream I had only made me realize that it’s too dangerous for you. Would it be… to much to ask if you could just stay with Jeremy for awhile? You know, be his assistant? You could make potions for him, especially since he’s out his normal supplier.”

                Nox looked at Ash, confused, and then shot her a gentle smile. “Only if you come with me.”

                Ash sighed. “But… you don’t do a lot in the way of combat… and...”

                “I know. But I’ve told you this before. Wherever you go, I go too. And vice versa.”

                Ash sighed. No such luck, it seemed.

                “We’ve made it out of worse situations… like The Mournland.”

                Ash remembered… and all too well. Though the outcome of that encounter was far different for her than it was for Nox.

                “Yeah...”

                “Then you know that we’ll be okay. Let’s just stick close to each other. Survive. Get paid. Rinse and repeat. It’s what we’ve always done, and that’s what we’ll keep doing. It’s worked out for us pretty good so far.”

                Ash nodded and looked around at the familiar surroundings. The Thornwood was a place that Ash and Nox came to whenever they had a break from their busy mercantile life, when they wanted, or more importantly, needed some time alone together, with nobody to bother them.  The last time she came here was just under a year ago, but with her older brother, Kai, with a tombstone meant for Nox. They had placed the tombstone in the clearing that they had camped out in, and Kai had left her alone for a while to mourn and reminisce. 

                “How long as it been… since we last visited this place?”

                Nox thought for a moment, placing his hand on his chin.

                “Hm… probably a year or so… it was right after our escape from The Mournland… I certainly don’t remember there being a tower overlooking our usual campsite, though.”

                “No… there wasn’t one. Just these ruins right outside, and some mounds and hills.”

                Nox smirked, taking a glance at Ash’s chest. “Yeah… I _do_ remember there being some… nice mounds.”

                Ash’s face suddenly turned red, her first instinct was to get frustrated, but… she gave a hearty laugh instead, her face lighting up for what felt like the first time in a while.

                “You would say that, wouldn’t you?”

                “You left that one wide open, how could I not take advantage?”

                “Yeah… you’re right.”

                They sighed in unison and gazed at one another, simply enjoying the moment for what it was. The calm winter day left a stark contrast to the intense day that the changeling couple have had so far. Nox put away his healing kit, sitting next to Ash and admiring the scenery.

                “So… What do you think about that kid, Soren?” Nox asked Ash.

                Ash looked up. Soren, a young monk and a member of House Cannith. He escaped from his family who was using his remarkable magical powers as a sort of magical battery, which lead him to the party, who agreed to let him join their ranks, if only for a little while.

                “He’s a good kid. I feel sorry for him, even if he is incredibly naiive, and a damned Cannith.”

                “Yeah… Soren and Capius both strike me as tryhards. You seem to be closest to Capius though. You talk to him a lot and act rather protective.”

                Capius, an older human paladin of the Silver Flame. For a man about to enter his thirties, he was quite sheltered. Until he met with Ash, Nox, Stick, Aklot and Bramble, he hadn’t ventured outside the greater Sharn region, and was foolhardy and stubborn.

                “Maybe… I just don’t want him learning shit the hard way… like we had to. He’s a handful, but if there’s one thing for sure, he’s not a liar, and he means well.”

                Nox shrugged. “I still think he’s too much of a tryhard. A goody two shoes. It’s going to be his downfall, one of these days. I myself like Stick. He’s fun. I mean, shit, did you see him earlier? He turned into a damn dinosaur and took care of that crab like it was _nothing_. I didn’t even know those things were actually _real_ ; I only ever read about them in the library.”

                Stick, the warforged wizard. A rare individual indeed, to be an artificially made machine capable of having latent magical energy residing within him. Ash and Nox had seen nothing like him, even when they were both working for House Cannith collecting warforged remains from the War.

                Ash giggled. “Yeah… He can be a lot of fun to hang around with… He can be more of a handful than Capius though. But He manages to pull some clever shit when he puts his mind to it.”

                “He’s definitely my favorite…. Not sure what to make of Aklot, though.”

                Ash never got to know Aklot too well. A hobgoblin from Darguun, he seemed to be little more than a farmer boy, and when they were in Sigilstar, Aklot had told the party that he thought about returning home. When he didn’t turn up to the inn the next morning to pursue Ralanxor with the rest of the group, they presumed that he had started to make his way back.

                “I don’t know what to think of him either. Seems as though he stuck around because he felt like he was in debt to us for helping him escape the damned jailers torturing him. I hope he’s okay… wherever he might be.”

                “Yeah… maybe we’ll see him again one of these days.”

                Nox looked up with Ash, deep in contemplation… or so it seemed. His face cracked a smile as he chuckled a bit.

                “And then… there’s Bramble. You two may as well be siblings. Sometimes it seems as though the only difference between the two of you is age.”

                Ash groaned in frustration. “I don’t see it… Bramble’s the grumpiest guy I’ve ever met, even for an old man.”

                Ash thought back to just before the pulled the card. There was a lot of arguing about what to do with it. Stop the runes from activating and turning the bodies into monstrosities? Pretend to accept Ralanxor’s deal and then backstab Evelyn? Who knows. All Ash knew was that her mind was clouded with guilt. All she wanted in that moment was a way to bring back Nox. None of the others were in favor of what she proposed—Bramble himself even went as far as to call her a stupid child.

                And maybe she was. Nonetheless, she made her choice. And here she sat, beside her childhood friend and lover once again. A wave of various emotions flooded her mind; relief that the card had worked, guilt over Nox’s death, confusion and uncertainty about her own identity now that she knew that she had her memories trifled with and realized that there was none to be had with Nox from the past year.

                Not all these thoughts were negative, though. With all this happening in such short order, Ash came to realize the value of what she had lost and had now regained. She began to think back to when they had first camped out in the Thornwood; Nox had been so fascinated by the unique flowers within it, curious to no end on their potential alchemical properties. He had pleaded with Ash to stay the night within the forest clearing, having fallen in love with the beauty inside, and she happily obliged; after all, it was almost impossible to tell him no once he had his mind set on something.

                It was there that they had spent most of that evening talking about whatever came to mind. Ash in particular had expressed her worries about deciding what she wanted to do for sure, expressing interest in perhaps becoming an adventurer. Nox had casually quipped about her becoming his wife, to which she gave a rather sassy reply to. She loved him deeply, but never thought highly of the concept of marriage; most everyone in their homeland of Thrane had thought it to be a sign to settle down, get a home, and have children, none of which Ash was keen on doing anytime soon, if ever.

                Even so, it seemed as if Nox had only been joking to lift Ash’s spirits. He reassured her that he would be right by her side, no matter what she decided she wanted to do. It was one of the best nights they’ve shared together; just Ash and Nox, alone, with just the forest, the moons, and the stars to witness them. Every time her mind became clouded in depression from his death soon thereafter, Ash always thought back to that night, wrapping his scarf tighter around her neck.

                As she reminisced time and time again, Ash came to realize that perhaps marriage didn’t have to involve settling down or doing any of the “normal” things most couples do afterward. After all, she had been with someone who was just as curious about the world as she was. Perhaps becoming Nox’s wife wouldn’t be so bad.

                Nox glanced at Ash, noticing her staring a hole into the ground, deep in thought.

                “Hey… is something wrong?”

                His voice disrupted her train of thought. She looked up to Nox, giving him a gentle, reassuring smile. Ash knew then what she wanted to do.

                “I’m fine… I was just… thinking about the first time we stopped here. Do you remember?”

                Nox nodded. “Yeah, I do. It was a nice night…”

“We talked about a fair number of things… and then when I had my doubts about what I wanted to do… you jokingly said that I could always be your wife to make me feel a little better.”

“I wasn’t joking.”

Ash paused for a moment as her heart began to race. She knew deep inside that Nox hadn’t been joking, but to hear it outright had nonetheless surprised her.

“Well… regardless, it got me thinking…”

Ash sat in front of Nox, holding both of his hands in her own. She gazed at him with total admiration and desire.

“Once this shit is all done with… once we kill Evelyn and all the dust settles… let’s do it. Let’s get married.”

 Nox’s face lit up almost right away. Though it was subtle, Ash knew him long enough to recognize that behind his gentle grin was pure happiness, not just from the simple fact that this was what he always wanted, but by the realization that Ash had finally warmed up to the idea.

“Yeah… I’d like that. All the more reason to be rid of her.”

Ash chuckled. “Indeed. And we’ll get an airship of our own and perhaps restart our merchant business.”

“With all the money we would likely get after she’s dead, I don’t think we would really need to.”

Ash shrugged. “That’s true… but it’d still be nice to explore Khorvaire on our own terms instead of following leads and killing dragons. I can’t imagine either of us settling down for long after that. Can you?”

“Hmm… no, guess I can’t.”

Nox squeezed Ash’s hands lightly, lifting them up to his face and placing gentle kisses on them, his mind still on Ash’s rather unorthodox proposal.

“…I guess now that we’re planning on getting married, I should get you a ring, huh?”

Ash giggled. “Maybe.”

“That will be what I do, then.”

The changeling couple sat, savoring the few moments they had alone together before facing their next big challenge. Ash in particular made it a point to burn it into her memory, vowing to never let it go.

After a while, Nox stood up, stretching. “Come on. We have a job to do… who knows what that fucker is doing in his tower while we get some rest…”

Ash stood with him. “If he’s anything like Jeremy, probably sitting doing his own thing until we come up, at which point he’ll tell us to leave. He strikes me as the type that won’t fight unless he has to.”

“I’m not sure if that makes him better or worse…” Nox let out a heavy sigh.

“Well, let’s go then, before the rest of the party starts getting the idea that we’re fucking.”

Ash smirked devilishly. “We can make that truthful right now.”

“Hah!... Maybe after this is all over. Seriously though… let’s go.”

Nox made his way inside the tower, with Ash following behind—now with great invigoration and an enormous weight lifted from her shoulders. Her goal had finally been realized, and in its place was a new one—to protect Nox, no matter the cost, and to tell him the truth once they had a moment of peace.


End file.
